Holiday at Home

How to have a holiday at home:

Pictures from Pinterest
I saw the prettiest hearts and roses at a Blog called Jennilise Rose.

Good Morning

Good Morning Dear Ladies.

I am still unpacking some of the less-used things I brought home from my trip and have taken this teapot out of the box. Like all the teapots I have been seeing lately, it was packed inside of a satin-lined box with a styrofoam shape to fit the teapot. It would  be very nice to find two teacups packed in a similar way.  Since being home I have been looking on the web for matching teacups, in memory of my little Mama.

This is a teapot I bought at the Tea Leaves Tea Shop in Sassafras in Victoria. The only label it has is "Royal bone China, England collection."  If you see the teacups for sale anywhere please let me know. I liked the cut-out section on the top that made it look like a crown.  I think the saucers of the matching teacups have the lacey cut-outs too.  Remember if you go to that shop to ask  an employee to help you and point to the item. They retrieve one in a box from the storage room. It is not advisable to carry the item to the check-out, as it is a display.  I was impressed that no one had to carry fragile teacups or atand in line holding any items.   

We had our annual Ladies Day lunch at my house and welcomed 12 people. Each lady took home one of of the vases I had prepared for them. They all chose colors they tended to use in their homes.

One vase with a primrose was left so I am going to give it to someone who was not able to attend.

We used the colors of the season for the table settings ( two tables) and ate simple savory foods. Our subject for discussion was the word "unfeigned" mentioned in the Bible several times. Certainly everyone can recall a time when someone was  pretentious and fake toward them, using their friendship to deceive and to harm.  

We discussed how devastating this can be, and how "uncivilized" it is when people, especially women, undercut and undermine others, but the Christian practice of showing "unfeigned" (unpretended, sincere) love makes us more civil and trustworthy.  A person who feigns friendship and feigns love will eventually be known as a fake and will be avoided by those who do not want to be stung by her. A feigned friendship is like a poisonous snake that is sneaky and quiet until it makes a devastating strike. 

We live in a culture of lying. We are surrounded by lies and some people live that way, constantly making up lies. While we used to think of that way of life as existing only in an underdeveloped region, it has become commonplace in the so called enlightened western world. It is especially alarming to see evidence of it among some church women. This shows that it is not wealth or poverty that creates a culture of feigned love.  Only by  adhering to the instructions in the  Word of God about this subject can any society, church or family be cured of the dark and sinister habit of feigned friendship.

The question has come to my email several times of what to do if you cannot get a group of ladies to come for such an event.  My experience has been that instead of waiting for an opportunity, do something like this for your own family and make it a tradition by repeating it yearly or even monthly. It is a way to make memories and create your own culture in places where there are no tea rooms and nothing remarkable or affordable to do.  

Creating your own culture at home creates a happiness that no one can steal.  For the most part, the lady of the home guides these activities and has the choice as to how to make them important to the family.  I have had interesting things going on in my home over the years, such as:

-Historical dinners which include events and people of the Bible and other countries where we dressed in a certain way and ate the food of the era.

-Ship trips where each bedroom was a stateroom and the passengers received a morning newsletter stating the activities of the day and the location latitude and longitude of the ship. We once went on Noah's ark and tried to emulate the possible working day on the ark.

-A train trip from one point to the other, stopping at various towns and learning the history. These trips all worked very well when the weather was too harsh for anyone to be outside.   We dressed according to the theme and looked up the foods and customs of the times we were emulating.

-Music, poetry, book reviews and theatre- each family member having something to contribute.

-Dress-up day where everyone dressed their absolute best and came to a fancy hotel for tea foods. That entailed the living room and dining room being in perfect order, as though receiving important guests.

-Cooking a meal day, where the family members followed a menu, each making a dish of food, setting the table and then attending the dinner together.  

-a host of other things can be done at home and the way to determine what you want to do is to think of the longings of your heart of what you wish life would really make available for you. Use your disappointments as ideas to create the life you really want at home.  Take pictures, keep a journal and scrapbook and make a family history book. 

-It is possible to have a ladies Bible class by using the children in your home as students. Even the boys are helpful by aiding the singing, offering a prayer, reading scripture as they take a turn around the group, helping with serving food, making helpful comments in the bible study.  

Occasionally when there has only been one lady who showed up in bad weather, I recruited all my children to fill up the room and aid in the singing.  If this happens, you have to stifle your disappointment, remain as cheerful as possible and sing a bit louder, smile a bit more, and enjoy to the fullest. 

 I got a great hint when I was younger about this: when no one shows up to your event, have it anyway, get up there and teach the lesson, have the tea and then report that it went well.  This is especially essential when raising children. You do not want to program the or minds to believe that one person showing up to your afternoon tea is not good.  When one person comes, you have more time for a really good conversation and you can give her your full attention.

My handmade heart for this year's Ladies Day theme: Unfeigned Love:

Beauty at Home

Good Morning Dear Ladies,

Today I am publishing for the first time from email to see how it works. I actually miss the big clunker computers because there were many publishing features that the new gadgets do not have. 

I enjoy the homemade Valentine cards  of this season and hope you will type in the search area on this blog on he upper left to see some of the original cards I have published with patterns for anyone to use. I like that so many bloggers are making at least one card or craft of this season, and enjoy seeing the materials they use.  There is nothing pressured about the Valentines season, as it seems to only require a nicely set table and good food.  I like to make a special dress to wear and create new tablecloths or placemats.  The flowers are not expensive if you go for the bedding plants, and use dollar store pots like I showed in the previous post called The Delights of the Day.  A dollar is all you need for some velvet type artificial flowers in pink, red or white, at the dollar store. 

Loveliness has been on my mind lately, possibly due to all the Valentines Day promotions. It is cheerful to go to the market or look at blogs and see the variety of things that are so soothing and make the heart lifted.

When the most grungy jobs at home are viewed with and ending of beauty, they are accomplished with much more optimism.

A few questions arrived from ladies who want me to address certain subjects, and I am formulating some possible answers. Of course I always look forward to reading your answers as well so be sure and leave comments when there is a subject you are interested in.

Spiritual Benefits of Leisure

Paintings on this post by AugusteToulamouche 

Good Morning Dear Ladies,

Thanks to all of you for what you do for me, to help and encourage and the suggestions you send for topics. They are most welcome. Thank you, who post such helpful comments.  

Today I am writing about the possible  spiritual benefits we ladies of the home might receive from our holidays or outings away from home. Naturally we must go out regularly for supplies, errands, making calls on others for various reasons.  During these times we will not be able to tend to things at home, but we may still be concerned with the home and glean something for the home from these outings.

I do not know if there are other ladies who think like this, but I have always used my vacations and outings with an eye toward improving my family home life when I returned to my house.  I see people coming home from camping trips or expensive tours who are none the wiser nor refreshed after such holidays.  Often the vacationers have had fusses and fights with other vacationers, and campers who have had a quantity of campfire smoke in their faces and amplified noise from other campers, return home more tense from the experience. 

Many years ago, the older generation would teach the value of getting away to "a place apart" like Jesus did, (Matthew 14:23) in order to spiritually refresh ourselves.  We younger ones grew up with that thought in our minds: that we were not vacationing just to have "a mess of fun" and live a riotous life for two weeks, but we were to have some rest and relaxation with God in mind. While we enjoyed getting away from work, and our mothers were relieved for a time from housework, family members in general knew they would be also privately communing with God as they walked and enjoyed nature or went to dinner in a nice place.

One of the ways I benefit from when I have to be away from home is getting refreshment to come home and enhance our home life and add elements to the house that will make it an appealing place to stay.  I look at what others are doing and what kind of food they prepare.  I enjoy observing  the different ways things are done in other places.  In shops I look for teacups or mixing spoons and specialty cookbooks.  I like to bring home a fourth yard of special fabric from the place I am visiting, to use as a table runner or something else.  Thinking of the home will start to be natural as your mind becomes focused on how you are going to improve things when you get home.

A truly beneficial time of leisure can give a lady new ideas for the home.  My friend, Angela, the owner of Angobys where I stayed in Australia, said her trip to Europe recently gave her all kinds of ideas for changing things in her bed and breakfast. She came home with a fresh eye for table settings and room arrangements. She refreshed the look of all her rooms, changed the look of the linens on the beds, re-arranged furniture and re-located wall arrangements.  She agrees with me that even an outing into town to re-stock supplies or taking a basket of food to someone  can revive interest in the home.

Since I spoke of my childhood friend and her guest house, I am including her recent Afternoon Tea setting here. I am sure this was delicious and will try to get the names of the sandwich fillings.

Afternoon Tea at Angobys: Angela and I traded a deal of ideas that helped each other see things at hem with a new heart and new eyes.

A quilt I saw while shopping: gave me a new idea for bringing out one of my old ones and draping it a different way in my house.

It has been said that a true outing will be re-creation, and that the purpose of getting out for a few hours is to come home revived and ready to do well.  It is for the purpose of focusing on things that are lovely and good, which is so important for our spirits. If you have a tea room in your area, I would encourage you to take someone with you and enjoy the change of place.

When a time away is done only for worldly pleasures, the experience is not as lasting or beneficial as when it is approached from the viewpoint of enhancing the home. Taking time away in "a place apart" (Matthew 14:23) has the spiritual benefit of a renewed mind.

Please be sure and leave your comments on this important subject!

Lydia

Ladies Who Write

Pen From Victorian Trading Co.

Good morning, ladies,

This morning I am sharing the links to other web-logs 

that have blessed me a lot, recently. I think you will agree

 that it is pleasant to visit someone's home.  The internet 

makes it possible to be in contact with people of like-minds and to have good fellowship with other ladies at home.

We are experiencing a very strong and noisy wind with blasts of heavy rain like buckets of water sloshed on the windows. Some people do not like to go out on a day like this, so I am listing some links to visit without leaving 

home. 

Thank you to all you who have sent me emails this week 

with gentle reminders to post again soon. Please check the posts beneath this one to see recent posts.  

And now for the web-log list of beautiful and encouraging posts. Please click on each one and have a look.  If you want me to include your blog, please let me 

know.

Simply click on the titles and enjoy!

Living From Glory to Glory

Teach The Younger Women

Aiken House and Gardens on Prince Edward Island in Canada

Decor to Adore published by a direct descendant of LittleHouse on the Prairie fame, Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth homemaking linkup

The Pleasant Times (Lillibeth) - a Valentine collage

Adventures in Keeping House - Altering store-bought clothes

MiasLandliv summer dreams

The Legacy of Home 

White Lace Cottage

 Sweet Melanie 

Blessed Homemaking

A Discussion of 1 Timothy 5

Paintings on this post are by Susan Rios

Today I am sharing the thoughts of my heart regarding the advantages of women guarding the home and attending to the business at home. The reason for thinking about this is a recent ladies Bible class where one of the ladies observed from the chapter we were reading, 1 Timothy 5:1-25, that Christian women at home were expected to be busy. They were not to just be home, but to have a spiritual purpose in being home: that of doing right and doing good. 

Please note that I have enabled a scripture pop-up so that you can  touch the verse reference and see what it says instantly.

We discussed the fact that even if a homemaker is not always busy, she needs to be wise in her use of time at home. This is a mind-set and a thought process, more than following a set of thou-shalts and thou-shalt-nots. This passage in the Bible does have some "thou-shalt-nots" but they contain general principles for Christian conduct. These principles involve creating a good reputation for the Word of God.  

The phrase: "...give no occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully" means to behave in a way that shows your seriousness about guiding the home; that you want to do your best and do whatever you can to prove that God's word is right and that following it is fruitful. Adversaries will be watching with a critical eye to see if you live your beliefs.

The young preacher, Timothy, was told to be an example to the believers (1 Timothy 4:12) and to make sure his spiritual character was would be apparent to everyone (1 Timothy 4:15).  This can apply to the lady at home because people will become aware of the way she lives, and she will be known for her good work in the home.  It may not seem like anyone notices, but eventually her progress will become apparent to others.

While there has always been a prevailing attitude that "what I do is my own business and I do not care what others think of it," it is just the reverse when it comes to a woman who wants to be doing her duty at home. The general belief that people should mind their own business is suddenly abandoned by the rest of the world when a woman stays home.  Now it is all their business as they criticize and pressure her to leave that post. This is why it is doubly important to, like Paul told Timothy, "make your progress evident to all." (1 Timothy 4:15). That is why a lady at home needs not just to be a good manager and housekeeper but to have a countenance of contentment and the conduct of a confident worker.  The world is watching her with an ever critical eye. Her influence is keenly felt in many places, and that is why there may be critical remarks directed at her. 

While no one likes to think negatively, there is a verse which must be considered in regard to the wrong way to live: In the context of what women the local congregation can offer financial assistance, 1 Timothy 5 exhorts the church to refuse such aid to the younger women (some translations say "younger widows" instead of "younger women") because they  need to marry, have children, and guide the house (1 Timothy 5:14). Otherwise, they will tend to: "...be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also, and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not." 1 Timothy 5:13) In this verse there are several things we need to consider:

idleness

Wandering from house to house

tattling

busybodies

speaking of things they ought not

Idleness is not the same thing as resting on the couch or standing idly looking out the window. The kind of idleness in this passage refers to something more than just not doing anything. It means to be unfruitful and unproductive, giving room for idle, silly talk, or behavior.  Idleness is quite menacing in the home and the church because the idle person will eventually become a tattler or a busy-body. The warning here is that those who learn to be idle will then be "wandering about from house to house." One thing leads to the next, and that is why down-time and relaxation need to be carefully regulated so that they are not used in a vicious way.

Wandering from house to house can be dangerous when it involves meddling with church members. Such a practice can divide the church and create "sides". Women of all ages need to be careful and not speak of things that people did not give them permission to spread.

Tattlers are people who tell one person what another person said or did, which in itself may not seem too harmful. However a tattler cannot tell the entire story. Often she will twist it or leave out certain things in order to make another person seem terrible. The purpose of doing this is to make others hate someone.  This is not the same thing as warning someone to avoid getting too involved with a busy-body or a trouble-maker. It is important to teach the younger women to be careful of certain people who can cause trouble in their lives. Should we tattle on the tattlers?  If we want them to stop, we should curb the amount of words we say to them and stop the flow of personal information to them, and tell others to use the same tactic.  

Now on to the word "busy body."  This is one thing the ladies discussed at length.  It does not necessarily mean it is wrong to point out the fault of being a busy-body, as some would say. There are those who think that you cannot even point out a sin because then you would be a busy-body yourself, but this is a way of twisting the principle to keep the truth from coming to light. 

If you are teaching children, you will need to teach them the difference between good character and bad character.  You can see how the Bible does it in many places, and where real people were described as having good or bad characteristics.  However it is not necessary to embarrass a guest or a friend by correcting her. Sometimes people are not maliciously trying to be tattlers or busy-bodies. We should be careful not to rush to judgement, but we should also not be naively allow the bad quality of being a busy-body to thrive in the home.

 A busy body is someone who is annoyingly pushing others around and concerning herself with what another person is doing, almost to an obsession.  Often she will focus on one woman who has influence and talk about every move she makes and every word she speaks until she gets others to hate her. Busy-bodies sometimes cannot be corrected and will create havoc among the other ladies. 

 The best thing to do with a busy body is to be too busy at home to give time to her. Sometimes busybodies come into a Christian woman's home on the pretext of wanting to visit the church members and to encourage them, but will slyly be collecting any information she can twist and spread against the person. It is certainly right and good to warn others of the busy-body and her ways. 

 Some busy-bodies "run their course" in a peculiar way: they will become good friends with another woman until they have bled every piece of personal information from her that they can, and when they get enough they will spread it around in a negative way to make others think less of of the woman. Then they will quit speaking to this once close friend and move on to their next target.  

Busy-bodies become increasingly clever at operating their schemes. In order to avoid getting trapped by a busy-body, it is best to limit your conversation with her and to be extremely careful about what you say. She can twist something as benign as your "Good Morning" into a tall tale designed to discredit you. Here is a poem that has some good advice:

If you your lips would keep from slips,
    Five things observe with care:
Of whom you speak, to whom you speak,
    And how and when and where.

If you your ears would save from jeers,
    These things keep meekly hid:
Myself and I, and mine and my,
    And how I do and did.

This poem has very good advice regarding speaking what is right and good and true, but in observing the rule to be careful what you say, you will protect yourself.  If you constantly talk of yourself, you are going to give out information to a busy-body who will take it and run wild with it, adding to it, exaggerating it, and twisting the meaning. 

As an example of how a busy-body twists the meaning of things, I know of a man who was moving into a new house. Another man who was helping, asked, "Where do you want us to put this couch?"  The new home owner replied, "Ask my wife. She is the boss," and he was then quoted by the tattler as saying, "My wife runs everything without my permission and she is boss over everything."  This is not what the man said. He was using a figure of speech that many men have used for decades, to show deference and respect to the lady of the house.  A tattler does not understand figures of speech or irony and will always spread things in a way to make others think ill of the people they are talking about. 

At last we come to the final of the four negative character qualities: speaking things which they ought not.  What do you think some of these things are?  Should Christian ladies just "be themselves" and talk about every inappropriate thing that comes to their minds, or are there certain distasteful things that we should avoid talking about? 

 Have you ever been in a group of women who were getting carried away with stories about their lives that were "colorful" and private in nature? Have you ever been embarrassed by someone talking about what they thought of your husband or your children? 

 Have you ever cringed at the kind of talk that women indulge in when they are in a group with other women who are encouraging it?  "Speaking what they ought not" is a very broad subject that will have to be dealt with in another post. 

Suffice it to say that women need to be careful about the things they talk about (and so must men!) to see that it is wholesome and edifying, and not sullying. To sully is to soil, to darken, to tarnish (as in tarnishing someone's reputation).

During a preacher's meeting I once attended, some of the preachers expressed dismay at the things their members were writing on facebook and other social media. They were disappointed to see people using this avenue for expressions, jokes, innuendos, descriptions and impure comments. Some people endorsed things on their pages that went against the teachings of the Bible. There were people "speaking of things which they ought not" on these pages. 

There are always those who have never been taught and do not know any better than to "speak of things which they ought not," (1 Timothy 5:13) but a Christian woman needs to be different than the world with her conversation. It is one thing to be ignorant because of lack of training, but it is quite another to be idle in a derogatory way, a tattler a busy body  and to speak things that ought not to be spoken.

I am sure you have a lot to say about these things:

Idleness

wandering from house to house

Tattling

Busybody

Inappropriate talk (speaking of things they ought not.)

The best way to avoid these things is to be busy minding your own business at home.

The Entryway

                             

                                          "Impressions" by Susan Rios Designs

I was reading a home design book about the impression an entryway gives to a home.  If you have no hall or actual entryway space built in, all you have to do is define the area by adding a high table with a lamp and a coat tree with space for umbrellas . This may also serve as a handy place for things you need to remember to take on your way out, or a place to put the outgoing and incoming mail, or temporarily a handbag and keys.

                    

Several times I have seen articles written by Christian ladies comparing the entryway to a home to the Christian woman and the welcome she gives to her guests. It sets the mood for the remainder of the visit.

One cannot help but admire the Susan Rios depiction of the lady in the painting who seems to be getting ready for guests or putting finishing touches in her home for her own family.  

Ancient history descriptions, including the Bible, speaks of "porticos" (porches and entryways) which were used as reception areas. Victorian houses had parlors which were for people who stopped by, while they waited to see if the host would receive them.

Delights of the Day

                            

                                                                   (Pinterest)

Greetings Dear Ladies,

If any of you have left work outside the home to be full-time homemakers, you probably wondered what you were going to do with yourself all day.  You may be finding out how much here is to do, how fast the day seems to pass, (especially when you have to leave the house to run errands) and how many things you can think-up to do!  It is a full-time occupation just looking after yourself and your husband, with meals, laundry, housekeeping, paperwork, correspondence, company, and home care. 

When possible, I like to take time to create something simple, which I am sharing today.

This is an English card-making magazine that includes an acrylic stamp and an embossing folder.  

Below: a card made with the stamp, using pigment ink and shiny white embossing powder.

The embossed background  is shown on this paper, below:

                            

                             

Some of the grocery stores and florists that use the Debi-Lily containers, like the one in the above photo, have really got some sparkly metal buckets and vases, but they are very expensive. The larger ones, with plants, are almost $30.00.  Since I am hosting an annual Ladies Day Lunch next week, I wanted to see how I could immitate this at a much lower price.

                              

Dollar Tree had tin buckets in green, red, purple and aqua, so I bought primroses for $1.29 and made these.  The wired burlap ribbon and crystal beads are also available at Dollar Tree and will make several of these projects, so the total cost was about $2.25 per gift. 

However I liked the way the plant looked in the plain tin bucket, below, so this will be the way I will present them. It takes less time and is just as pretty. 

                            

The guests will choose the ones they want to take home. I am hoping to add a final photo of the other colors of buckets with the primroses that are available now.

I am not sure how long the outdoor primroses will last in the house, but at just $1.29 or less per plant, they are such a treat to use as fresh bouquets on the dining table, kitchen area, coffee table, and the entry table. They last so much longer than cut-flowers.

Since I have not posted in awhile, I want to get this up before the end of the day, so I will make this short.

     

           

                 

                                  One of the things I had not noticed until yesterday were the umbrella bags offered free, on a rack as you enter the store, to keep the water from dripping on the floors or getting your purchases all wet in the cart. You just slip the bag over the folded umbrella to contain the moisture. This one is from Walmart.  How nice.  It was one of the day's little delights.

                          

Since I have not posted in awhile and want to publish before this day is over, I will make this short.

Thank you for all your thoughtful and helpful comments and also thanks to those who email me to encourage me when I do not post often!

With love,

Lydia

                               

Here is an interesting quote. It answers the puzzling question of what to do with negative, cutting and critical remarks---very well-said!

                  

Gifts for the Ladies Day Lunch. I got the metal vases at Dollar Tree and stuffed them with a couple of plastic bags to give the plants height. These plants can be put in the ground later but for now they make beautiful inexpensive bouquets that will not die.

Do you wish you were going to be here?  

God Leads Us Along

Gazebo porch from Landscaping Network

Please click on the picture below and listen to the hymn!


I hope you are enjoying this lovely Lord's Day. We are having cold, foggy, wet weather, but it depends on how you view it as to how you endure it. It can be quite beautiful, and if the rain is dripping on a piece of tin, it can make a melodic sound.

Numbers 6:24-26

24 The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:

25 The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

Napkin Rosette Tutorial

Hello Dear Ladies,

I took a moment to look at the new Southern Lady edition online and found a nice tutorial here:

http://www.southernladymagazine.com/napkin-rosette-how-to/

The recent hard copy issue at Walmart had such nice photos of bouquets in interesting containers.

I have a list of topics to cover that have been sent by readers, but today I have time for only a brief message, and it is contained in this verse, which is a great motivation for ladies who have the huge responsibility of the home:

Col 3:17  And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God andthe Father by him.

The Effect of Color in the Home

Good morning, ladies. A reader sent me this picture from Victorian Trading Company.  The interior is lovely, too, with the curved windows and alcove. Years ago it was possible to buy curved curtain rids to use on an ordinary window, giving a plain house an extraordinary look. I like the red roses in this covering. A smaller size would brighten a couch, especially on dark days.

Different colors have different effects on people and proclaim a mood or an occasion.  I once taught a ladies class featuring the colors mentioned in the Bible and their purpose.  I will try to do that here one day also.

If you are new to this blog, please click on the links on my blogroll on the left. These blogs invite you for a glimpse into other people's homes.

There is a good comment about using color on the walls so please click on comments to read it.

Ephesians 5:1  Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

Eph 5:2  And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

Whatever is Lovely

Today I am sharing the latest paintings of Susan Rios, an artist in California. You can view the  paintings at her Etsy store here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SusanRiosDesigns

Consider adding florals in vases or paintings to your home. The other day when I was in a Grocery store I saw some very appealing bouquets in the florist department of the store. The price of course was very high, but I was able to duplicate the flowers with Dollar Tree velvet roses that I already had.